Paula's Perspicacity

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I received two pieces of clothing from prAna for this review. All opinions are my own.

I was getting my nails done recently, and the woman in the chair next to me struck up a conversation. She complimented me on my shirt, a prAna Tilly Top I shared before. Ever since I received that shirt, it has become a frequent go-to. And given that it elicited a kind word from a complete stranger, it looks good too!

I am excited to be partnering with prAna again, this time to focus on their decision to focus on using 100% organic cotton.

I have two pieces of cotton clothing to share.

The Yvonna Tee

This Yvonna tee was perfect this past weekend as we traveled to Riverview (Florida) for my in-laws’ burial of ashes. It was pretty and comfortable, with enough decorative touches that I felt a bit more dressed than I would have in a plain tshirt, especially since it was Easter Sunday.

On the way home…

A closer look…

Closer detail…

The Kornelie Tank

After all that traveling and emotion, what I really need is some yoga.

While I would like to envision myself here:

Photo Credit: prAna

…. I suspect reality will be a little less exotic (but no less relaxing). When I finally get around to it, picture me inhabiting this tank, in savasana.

A closer look…

Even closer…

Want your own prAna?

My readers can get 15% off their prAna purchases when they buy online and enter the code GGPK18 at checkout.

Sometimes, we have an overwhelming desire to be somewhere else or our life circumstances make it impossible to stay where we are. This week, three organizations/people addressed that need in ways that deserved more than a quick social media share. Therefore, I have chosen to highlight them today.

A Randy Pausch Quote

Every issue of SmartBrief ends with a quote. The featured quote in many of the January 19 issues came from Randy Pausch.

What this quote has to do with “being elsewhere”:

The first time my husband heard “The Last Lecture,” he said “you’ve got to listen to this.” That was a good call. I wouldn’t go on to decide to leave the job I had held for well over a decade for seven more years, but Randy Pausch planted the seed. I listened to the lecture online, bought DVDs of it to share with friends, purchased the book.

As a person who has hesitated far too often to ask “why?” “how?” and “why not?” for fear of being told “no,” “that’s stupid,” or “who exactly do you think you are?,” Randy Pausch’s lecture reminded me that being reluctant to ask the hard and adventurous questions only hurts me and leads to someone else getting to go on the thrilling adventure.

“Princess Pigtails (PP)” was three when placed into Shannon’s care as a foster child, and almost four when she was placed back with her biological grandmother. Because I have been so absent from working out at the fitness student Shannon owns, I never met PP, but I felt like I knew her through the stories Shannon shared on social media (many of which comprise the Tampa Bay piece).

For her own protection, PP needed to “be elsewhere,” at least temporarily. As you’ll see from the story, our state’s laws, system and philosophy about what is best for foster children are imperfect at best. The placement may have been temporary, but PP made a permanent difference on many hearts (and I believe the experience may lead to positive changes for other children in foster care). Thank you, Shannon, for taking the risk to love this child even though it split your heart open when she moved on, and thank you PP for being a gift to so many of us.

Editor’s Note: Click here for a Tallahassee Democrat account of Shannon’s time with Princess Pigtails and foster care in general.

The people who are “elsewhere” (elsewhere from the United States, or from elsewhere and living in the United States but on the verge of being forcibly returned to “elsewhere”) often deal with the life inequities that come with what Steve (and many others) refer to as “the birth draw.”

I am so grateful to have spent time in Guatemala and El Salvador (that’s Guatemala City in the image I shared). It wasn’t long enough (two weeks in total) and it didn’t go deep enough (although I am grateful to have gone, for sure!). Both times, because I was traveling with Unbound, we were treated as royalty (literally …… flower-petal paths, extravagant (for the area) meals, and deference). They were beautiful, educational trips, but we didn’t deserve the deference — if anyone did, it was the people who work so hard to support their families in the face of indescribable difficulties, violence and educational deficits.

What can you do this week to find your own “elsewhere” (if that’s what you need) or to help another person whose “elsewhere” has become untenable?

Since my writing this month has been decidedly on the dark and introspective side, I’m going to take a break today, based on a prompt by Kat Bouska, and share a December wish list.

If money were no object (sigh….)

I would be out of debt

I realize I made this bed myself, but it’s a bed I would happily burn to the ground in lieu of sleeping on an air mattress full of the light, buoyant air of financial freedom

I would be able to give my family a bigger Christmas, checking more items off their wish lists

Frankly, it has been so long since Wayne and I wished out loud for the “big” things that I don’t know what the biggest item is on his list. (Actually, I do know a trip around the world is on his list.) Guess if this wish comes true, Santa is going to need to throw in a cure to Wayne’s fear of flying.

I want to get my daughter this bag without batting an eyelash. Note depending on exactly *who* is reading this — if you’re Santa’s “elf,” I know this is not the right print. Don’t panic. 😉

I don’t know the “big” items on my son’s wish list, but I imagine they are car-related. We’ll just go with a substantial gift card to the Infiniti Online Store. I’m pretty sure that would work!

Clothes!

Because I work from home, and virtually nothing I do right now is client-facing, my wardrobe is pretty depleted. I’ve also thrown out many items that I have given up on losing enough weight to fit back into.

I’ve always been pretty practical about clothes, but I love excellent quality and precise tailoring. This outfit is cute (but with flat or low-heeled shoes for me). With two conferences coming up in 2018 and who-knows-what professionally, I need Santa to help me up my wardrobe game.

Generosity

I truly wish I could give so much more (time and money) to the causes I love. More help to the children our family loves in Central America and sponsors through Unbound, such as Stanley (here’s his most recent picture (he’s in the Santa hat!):

Better Spanish

I have totally bailed on my Spanish study after promising in this post that I would do better (I did enroll in the online Berlitz course, but have not been consistent at all). Dear Santa, send me to Antigua (Guatemala) or (better yet), Valencia (Spain) for a couple of weeks to improve my Spanish!

Broadway! NYC! Theatre!

Seventy-five percent of our family wants desperately to see something on Broadway.

BUT

You didn’t think I could *just* do a wish list without a message about what really matters, did you? Admittedly, I want every single thing I listed above, but echoing in my head as I write this is a passage from Well: Healing our Beautiful, Broken World from a Hospital in West Africa that details a young boy’s battle with a bone infection that almost led him to have to have his leg amputated. Apparently people in Togo are at risk of these infections because they don’t have toothbrushes, so they can’t brush their teeth, so they get life- and limb-threatening infections.

I Got To Travel

I love traveling so much. Getting to take a quick road-trip to Panama City Beach in order to participate in this race fed a bite-sized morsel to the voracious travel lover in me. Packet pick-up was at the Edgewater Beach and Golf Resort, home of several memorable gymnastics experiences back in my Gym Mom days. Wow did that make me nostalgic.

I Got To Run

Running is so central to who I am. A trip that does not involve running is very likely not a trip I am on! It was so nice to enjoy the sound of the ocean waves as we traversed Front Beach Road throughout the half marathon course, to share my friend Tabitha’s first ever half marathon (yay!), and to experience just a little bit of relief from the stress that has hung over my races and runs since the Turkey Trot. (Note for anyone following the health part of the Turkey Trot post, I have an appointment with an electrophysiologist on January 6 and will hopefully get closer to having some answers.)

I Got To Cuddle With A Dog

Okay, cuddling with a dog doesn’t represent a component of my year, but spending a half marathon with Minnie Pinnie was a SURPRISE! Oh how I love this 5-month-old, 4 pound bundle of awesomeness who did the entire 13.1 miles (carried for much of it) in a tutu that matched her mom’s. She made every single person who passed her smile (even the ones who mistook her for a chihuahua). She spent the ride back to Tallahassee curled up in my lap, fast asleep (admittedly, I did a little snoozing too). Takeaway for the year? Be open to new surprises. This “not a dog person” was won over in short order.

I Got To Support My Friends and Be Supported By Them

Ostensibly I was doing this race to support Tabitha as she ran her first half, but making the arrangements reminded me that it is okay to ask for help sometimes. Neither of our cars is really up to a long trip, and I was hoping to make it cost effective by sharing a hotel room, so I asked for help. All of that worked out, and moments along the way, such as this exchange with my dear friend Arlene, said “support” without saying a word:

I Got To Be Myself

As I wrote about in this post and this post, some of my struggles this year have been related to insecurity and lack of feeling accepted, with a dash of the feeling that I am more “myself,” and less inhibited on social media than I am with the people I spend time with in real life. The camaraderie, jokes, and shared moments of this weekend built rather than eroded; that was a plus.

Race eve dinner!

I Got To Write About It

This should be self-explanatory. The finish line of the last race of 2014 behind me, now I write. Although it’s true I will write about anything, but deeper truth is that I am inclined to write regarding just about everything. Look for that to continue in 2015.

Lastly, I Am Looking Ahead to Making The Finish Line Count

In thinking back through this weekend’s half marathon, I have noted how it captured many of the parts of 2014 I loved, including travel, running, friends, and writing. One of my main projects for 2015 will be participating in the 2015 New York City Half Marathon as part of Team SOAR which is running for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. What do you know? I get to travel to it, get to run at it, will be with friends old and new, and will inevitably write about it! It’ll have everything except the miniature pinscher! (I do have a commitment to fulfill in support of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in order to participate, though. Here’s my link if you feel inclined to donate — no amount is too small!). I just received my training shirt today, and it seems perfect as I start 2015: